Posts from November 2007

November 26, 2007

I absolutely adore my eight-year-old niece Alyssa, but I don't always adore the movies we see together. Lately my brother and I have fallen into a pattern when we take his kids to the movies: he goes to some shoot-em-up or chop-socky flick with his 15-year-old son Nicholas, and I take Alyssa to something a tad more appropriate to her age and girly sensibility. Fortunately, my sensibilities are decidedly girly as well, but I have been forced to see some pretty dreadful stuff, such as the recent "Underdog" movie. Sheesh.

Well, this weekend, while Mark and Nick took in "Beowulf," Alyssa and I went to see "Enchanted." I was actually looking forward to this movie, given its multifarious Broadway pedigree, and I'm glad to say that it did not disappoint. The songs are by Stephen Schwartz (lyrics) and Alan Menken (music), a formidable pair indeed, and they do a bang-up job of sending up archetypal Disney ditties, particularly with "True Love's Kiss" and "Happy Working Song." The big supposed show-stopper, "That's How You Know," is a bit more lackluster, but it certainly serves its purpose.

As a charming bonus, the movie also employs a number of Broadway performers who have previously served as the voices of various Disney heroines. Jodi Benson, who plays Dempsey's assistant, was the voice of Ariel in "The Little Mermaid."Judy Kuhn, who has a very brief bit as a pregnant woman with a bunch of kids, was the singing voice of "Pocahontas." And Paige O'Hara, whom I didn't quite catch in the movie, but who is nonetheless listed in the credits, was the voice of Belle in "Beauty and the Beast."

The movie itself is quite good, and would still be so even without the theater-queen-recognition factor. It's a clever and engaging mix of animation and live-action, and it gently and lovingly skewers many of the conventions and clichés that Disney invented in the first place. "Enchanted" is a terrific holiday treat for the kids in your life, be they female or male, but it's also great for tapping into that eight-year-old girl within.

November 21, 2007

The major bright spot on my recent New York theater weekend was the new revue, Make Me a Song, a thoroughly captivating celebration of composer/lyricist William Finn's work at the New World Stages. The show was effectively and affectingly staged by Rob Ruggiero, who really brought out the quirky, cranky heart of Finn's songs.

Revues are always tricky to pull off, but Ruggiero has compiled a stunning sequence of songs from Finn's work, from the familiar to the obscure. There were selections from A New Brain and In Trousers, as well as from the concert Infinite Joy, and the song cycle Elegies. The show also features three new numbers from Songs of Innocence and Experience, which Finn composed to celebrate the dedication of a new theater at his alma mater, Williams College. There's nothing from Spelling Bee, which is surprising, but perhaps Ruggiero wanted to focus exclusively on Finn's previous work.

The section I wound up enjoying the most was the part I had been looking forward to the least: the suite of songs from Falsettos, a show that combines two separately produced Finn works, March of the Falsettosand Falsettoland, into one evening. The very idea of a separate Falsettos section at first seemed obligatory and uninspired to me. Well, three songs into the medley I was thoroughly disarmed and crying like a baby. The cast of Make Me a Song do a stirring job of recreating the power and pathos of Finn's masterwork.

As for the cast, D.B. Bonds gave me chills all evening, not least because he's friggin' adorable (see photo left), but also because he brought a quiet intensity to each song. I had seen him as Freddy in the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels tour, and was concerned he'd be a bit over the top. Quite the opposite. In fact, most of the cast were content to give relatively low-key readings, allowing the intensity of the songs themselves draw the audience in. Adam Heller served as a sort of stand-in for Bill Finn, singing songs that Finn has recorded himself ("Make Me a Song," "Republicans," "Stupid Things I Won't Do"). Heller brought an impish playfulness to his songs, without ever pushing or noticeably emoting.

The female cast members were equally strong, particularly Sally Wilfert, who brought great control and focus to songs that others have
wailed the hell out of, including "I Have Found," which is from Finn's
unproduced musical The Royal Family of Broadway. Slightly less subtle was Sandy Binion who overall was quite effective, but her gestures and stance were just a bit too I-Am-Woman-Hear-Me-Roar, if you know what I mean. She also tended to adopt that I'm-doing-a-revue quality that affects for too many performers. Maybe you've seen it: looking around to the other performers with a knowing smile that's supposed to communicate "Hey, isn't it cool that we're doing such great material?" To be fair, the other performers exhibited a slight tendency toward this quality as well, but it's not really a deal-breaker.

The set by Luke Hegel-Cantarellawas...well...interesting. You can sort of see it in the photo to the left. There seemed to be a deliberately unfinished quality to it, perhaps to emphasize the notion that, in a revue such as this, the audience becomes a collaborator and fills in the blanks, finishes the scenarios in its head. Whatever, it wasn't too pretentious, and didn't get in the way.

Overall, this show is one of the best things to see in New York right now, as the strike continues into Thanksgiving weekend. In fact, the strike imbued certain lyrics in the show with an added meaning:

I have found...That goodness and warmth are as exciting, in their wayAs any Broadway play, Broadway bound.

A nice, unintended reminder that some of the nicest pleasures on stage are quite often found beyond the narrow confines of the designated Broadway theaters. As the strike stretches painfully on, there's plenty of joy to be had Off Broadway.

I remember many years ago seeing the movie of "The Ritz" with Rita Moreno repeating her Tony-Award-winning role as Googie Gomez, and a cast that featured Jack Weston, Jerry Stiller, F. Murray Abraham, and a very hot Treat Williams in his movie debut. As a young gay man, I relished the subject matter, and the idea of seeing actual gay people on the screen, but even back then I had the sense that the material was clunky. I was thinking that perhaps the play would somehow play a bit more smoothly.

It doesn't. On the whole, the play represents a minor diversion at best, interesting only because it's an early work by a major playwright, Terrence McNally, and because it was one of the first Broadway plays to directly address homosexuality.

Joe Mantello's flabby, atrophic direction doesn't do the material any favors. He doesn't seem at home with farce, and allows his cast to throw away many of the intended laughs lines under the mistaken impression that speed alone equals comedy. Yeah, well, articulation and timing help. Ironically, although the lines are often delivered at lightening speed, transitions between bits and scenes often flow at a snail's pace. There are fleeting times when the show moves efficiently, and when the laughs tumble forth, but for the most part the production is spotty and limp.

Kevin Chamberlin plays the leading shlub Gaetano Proclo. Chamberlin is a very talented and sympathetic performer, but his work here is all sputtering and bluster, to precious little comic effect. It pains me to say that, because I've always enjoyed his work, particularly in Seussical. This is a great example of how the wrong director can make even the strongest performers ineffective.

In the Googie Gomez role, the game and energetic Rosie Perez was incomprehensible during most of her book scenes. Her accent was very hard to penetrate -- a tad ironic, given that she's Hispanic herself -- rendering most of the comedy in her role inert. But she does a kick-ass job during Googie's deliberately awful cabaret number, as Ben Brantley so effusively pointed out in his review. Perez was also a treat later in the show when Googie emcees the talent show.

As is his custom of late, Brooks Ashmanskas manages to steal the show as Chris, the ebullient-but-frustrated bathhouse patron. Ashmanskas pulled off a similar feat last season in Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, snagging a Tony nomination for his efforts. As Chris, he's is a bit more modulated than he was recently in the Huntington Theater's Present Laughter, but that's probably a good thing. Once again, Ashmanskas proves himself a gifted physical comic.

Former gay porn star Ryan Idol (née Marc Anthony Donais) is featured as one of the bath patrons, and about the best you can say for his performance is that he doesn't embarass himself. Broadway gadfly Seth Rudetsky also has a tiny role, with very little actual stage time, but his brief parody of Bob Fosse's "Magic to Do" from Pippin during the talent show was worth a giggle.

If you're in New York and are looking for a diversion, you could certainly do worse than The Ritz, but you could also do much much better.

November 18, 2007

I just got back from my what's-still-playing-amid-the-strike weekend. A new round of negotiations in the stagehand strike began this past Saturday morning, and apparently continue as I write this on Sunday.

The score is by composer Stephen Flaherty, and the book and lyrics are by Lynn Ahrens, both of whom I simply adore. I think they're the most talented team working today. They always make interesting choices and execute their craft with stalwart professionalism and heart. Even their not-so-successful shows are brimming with sympathetic characters, rich and melodious music, and clever and heartfelt lyrics.

Would that I could report that The Glorious Ones ranked with Ragtime, Once on This Island, or A Man of No Importance. Alas, no. Unfortunately, The Glorious Ones bears more similarity to the heartbreakingly imperfect Seussical and My Favorite Year, everyone's favorite F&A flop. The pair seem to do far better when they have a separate librettist, such as Terrence McNally, who wrote the book to both Ragtime and AMONI. With The Glorious Ones, F&A retain their keen sense of theatricality, but the show reflects their unfortunate weakness when it comes to through-line and dramatic cohesion.

The main problem with The Glorious Ones is that the plot doesn't really kick in until 45 minutes into this 90 minute show. Up until then, there's no dramatic imperative: the show is fragmented, episodic, and...improvised? I get the sense that this may have been intentional on the authors' part, but it just doesn't work. I was left wondering what the show was going to be about far too late into the evening. On the whole, the show felt like a very promising out-of-town tryout: not quite ready for New York, but featuring a large mass of tremendously rich, albeit inchoate material.

Director/choreographer Graciela Danielle certainly gives the cast lots to do. Danielle takes her inspiration from the sheer energy of the commedia characters and tradition. There's always a brisk sense of crispness and purpose to the proceedings. The humor is often crude, and deliberately so, but a lot of it comes off forced, although there are some genuinely funny bits.

But the good news is that Flaherty and Ahrens have once again
demonstrated their mastery at writing marvelous extended ensemble
numbers. You can always count on F&A to know how to start a show, in particular. Their various opening
numbers comprise a veritable treatise on how to set the proper tone (cf. "Twenty Million People," My Favorite Year; "We Dance," Once on this Island; "We Are Descended," Dessa Rose; and the title numbers from both Ragtime and A Man of No Importance), and the opening/title number to The Glorious Ones is no exception.

Because the characterizations tend to be on the thin side, certain major plot points aren't quite believable. F&A justify a particular key development (it's pretty much the denouement, so I don't want to give it away) with a powerful and moving song, "I Was Here," which Marc Kudisch delivers masterfully. But it still doesn't make the character's actions credible. Kudisch is, in general, full of bluster and menace, and extremely effective. There's a reason he's one of the busiest actors in New York. He's also one of the most talented, bringing a self-assured presence and vitality to each role.

The very talented Erin Davie has very little to do. It's not clear at first that she's actually playing two different parts, another indication of the slightly sloppy characterizations in the show. Natalie Venetia Belcon is lusty and sharp in the Columbina role. I recognized her face at once, but it took me a while to remember from where: she originated the Gary Coleman role in Avenue Q. The entire cast is strong and affecting, particularly John Kassir as Dottore (who proves himself a skilled mime. Yes, mime.), and Julyana Soelistyo as the love-struck Armanda.

Overall, I'm reminded of Frank Rich's New York Times review of the original Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim's notorious flop Merrily We Roll Along. Rich wrote: "As we all should probably have learned by now, to be a Stephen
Sondheim fan is to have one's heart broken at regular intervals." I will always be interested in seeing what Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens come up with from their fertile imaginations. But holding two creators in such high esteem and affection means that I'm going to feel their missteps all the more keenly. Even so, I'm glad that Flaherty and Ahrens are out there planning new shows even as I type.

November 16, 2007

It is with decidedly mixed emotions that I head down to New York City this weekend for one of my regular theater weekends. Two of the shows I have tickets for are still running: The Ritzand The Glorious Ones. The third show, The Little Mermaid, has been canceled, and I understand that Ticketmaster will be issuing an automatic refund to my credit card, although I will not be getting back my $3.10 "processing fee," whatever that means.

My mixed emotions emanate not from missing a show, but rather from the prospect of witnessing the strike first-hand as I traverse the mostly moribund theater district. The sight of so many venues lying fallow will certainly be either depressing or infuriating, possibly both. I think it's probably best if I try to keep my distance, lest I attempt to engage with a stagehand or two, accidentally let fly a few choice Anglo-Saxon words, and end up in a fist fight with someone who will undoubtedly be able to kick my sorry ass.

On the bright side, I decided to fill my now-open Saturday night slot by purchasing a ticket to the newly opened William Finn revue, Make Me a Song. I'm a huge Finn fan, and I've been looking forward to seeing this show, and wasn't sure it was going to run long enough for me to be able to catch it on one of my future NYC jaunts. What's more, the show plays at 5PM and 9PM on Saturday nights, so I'll be catching the early show, which will allow me to hit the road and arrive home in Boston at a decent hour.

The stagehands union and the producers will be meeting tomorrow (with a little help from one of the big guns at Disney) to try to restart the negotiation process. Let's hope that for all involved everybody keeps a level head and finds a way to, if not make everyone happy, at least get everyone back to work.

November 14, 2007

According to Michael Riedel of The New York Post, both sides in the ongoing Broadway stagehands strike appear to be digging their heels in, and the strike may end up dragging on over the next few weeks. The stagehands are hoping that the producers will crack faced with the prospect of losing the highly profitable Thanksgiving weekend, typically Broadway's busiest time. And the producers are counting on the stagehands' receiving pressure from the currently inactive Broadway actors, faced with what is looking increasingly like numerous missed paychecks.

There's been a lot of coverage about the economic impact of the strike, and the fact that it may cause a number of shows to delay their opening nights. (For an ongoing tally of the nitty-gritty details of the strike, check out the blog of my inestimable colleague, Steve on Broadway. Geez, Steve, do you, like, have a day job?) But the strike may also force certain shows to close up shop entirely. The Drowsy Chaperone, which according to Riedel will be closing in January anyway, may need to check out of the Marquis a bit sooner than that. And Tom Stoppard's Rock 'n' Rollhas the added expense of housing for all the Brits in the cast, which may force that critically acclaimed show to shutter prematurely.

But the show that's really getting the worst end of this situation is Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas, which may wind up not reopening at all after the strike, depending on how long in drags on. That means that the show will have played only one regular performance and 13 previews. Ouchy-wa-wa.

Let's hope that EVERYONE involved stops acting like a bunch of frickin' babies, returns to the bargaining table, and hammers out a compromise agreement that gets everyone back to doing what they do best: creating quality theater.

November 09, 2007

I haven't been posting much about the threatened strike by the Broadway stagehands, mostly because I didn't want to tempt fate. I had a few recent theater weekends in New York, and I have another one coming up next weekend, and I was hoping that the matter would just resolve itself and I wouldn't have to worry about missing any of my shows. But the union rep for the stagehands recently authorized a strike, which may occur within the next few weeks.

From a purely selfish perspective, even if the strike occurs, there's a decent chance that I'll still get to see all my shows. Friday night I'm seeing The Glorious Ones, which is technically Off Broadway, but even if it were on Broadway, it still wouldn't be affected because the Lincoln Center Theater is a non-profit organization, and thus has separate agreements with the unions. The same is true for my Saturday matinée show, The Ritz, which is on Broadway, but under the auspices of the non-profit Roundabout Theater.

My main concern is my Saturday night show, The Little Mermaid, which is playing at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater, a Nederlander house. The Nederlanders are technically "silent observers" at the contract negotiations, but a spokesperson for the Nederlanders has stated that, in the case of a strike, that organization would likely engage in a "lockout" of its stagehands, in the interest of presenting a united front in the negotiation process.

From what I can glean, one of the main sticking points in the negotiations is whether during the "load-in" process for shows producers should continue to employ a certain minimum number of stagehands, irrespective of whether there's any work for all those people to do. The producers don't want to continue to pay people to sit around and do nothing. And the union wants to preserve a certain standard of living for its members, whether they actually earn that money or not.

I try to take a balanced view of the issues, but from where I sit, the unions are out of line. It's no wonder the average top ticket price on Broadway is creeping perilously close to $125. There's no question that it's a complicated calculation as to where all of money goes. But the union seems content to extract as much money from each production as possible, rather than allowing for the possibility of a greater number of financially successful productions, and thus spreading the wealth around to more people.

My hope is that the various parties will understand that there are other people's livelihoods at stake here, and that they'll come to a compromise, certainly in time for me to see my shows. But, in a broader sense, it's in everyone's best interest to craft an agreement that benefits the long-term viability of Broadway shows in general, not just lines the pockets of a select group, and either side of the negotiation table.

I have no end of affection for this show, not least because the first time I saw it, Off Broadway at the Second Stage Theater, I was one of the audience members who took part in the on-stage bee. I had such a blast, and was so proud to be the last audience member eliminated, that I saved my apple juice box and...well...framed the damn thing. (See photo left) Pretty dorky, huh?

Then I saw the show during its Boston run, and remained thoroughly taken by the show and its multifarious charms. The current New York production features numerous cast members from the Boston stop, including the wonderful Stanley Bahorek as Leaf Coneybear and the heartbreaking Jenni Barber as Olive Ostrovsky.

If you haven't yet seen this delightful show, then by all means head towards the Circle in the Square Theater before January 20th. You don't have to take part in the bee itself, but believe me it's a tremendous amount of fun if you do.

In general, the tour performances weren't quite as sharp as those in the original production, but the cast members were nonetheless eminently effective and stirring. Doyle's actor/musician concept is still compelling, but it's somewhat less remarkable upon second viewing. I'm not sure if this was because I knew what to expect, or because it was easier to notice that sometimes the presentation represented style over substance. (I'm still not entirely sure what the little white casket is meant to represent. Hope?) Still, overall I found the production a thoroughly entertaining re-imagining of Stephen Sondheim's master work.

The tour stars the formidable Judy Kaye, Tony Award winner for The Phantom of the Opera, as Mrs. Lovett. Kaye was not quite as edgy as Lupone was, and not nearly as funny, but she eventually warmed up and really made the role her own, especially in "A Little Priest." Kaye's a total pro, and ultimately she gives the Lovett role a heartier and brighter spin than Lupone did.

The tour's other star, David Hess, was out for the performance I saw, so understudy David Garry donned the leather strop and chased-silver blades. Garry brought a certain smoldering sensuality to the part: he's a big burly bear of a man, and certainly the sexiest Sweeney I've seen. Now, Michael Cerveris is a hot guy, to be sure, but his interpretation of Sweeney was so grim and humorless that it was really hard to think of him as hot (unless that's the sort of thing you go in for). Garry put much more of a jovial spin on the role, albeit with a sinister subtext. The only indication that Garry was an understudy came during "A Little Priest" when he came in slightly late on one lyric and had to back-phrase to catch up. Hardly noticeable, unless you had the score memorized.

The rest of the cast comprised a healthy complement of veterans from the recent Broadway production, including Lauren Molina as Johanna, and she was just as sprightly and fresh as she was in New York. Benjamin Magnuson also repeats his role as Anthony, retaining his quirky, exuberant interpretation, although he did seem to be forcing the humor this time around. One refreshing newcomer was Edmund Bagnell as Toby, who was very different from Manoel Felciano in the role, yet each portrayal was compelling in its own way. Bagnell's Toby was far more playful and less dysfunctional: more barking mad than broodingly schizoid.

The Boston stop of the Sweeney tour ends Sunday, November 4th, but the show then goes on to numerous dates throughout the country. It's well worth checking out, especially if you weren't able to catch the show in New York. John Doyle's version breathes welcome new life into Sweeney Todd, which is without question a modern masterpiece.

Also, just so you didn't think I was exaggerating about the "rocker porn star " look that the creators have given the monster, see the photo below for a graphic illustration. Pretty hot, huh? Yeah, I'd totally do him. Trouble is, I didn't find him dramatically compelling or the least bit menacing. And aren't those two things that Frankenstein's creation should evoke? I mean, as opposed to lust?

As I say in my BoCo class all the time, there's no such thing as a bad idea for a musical, only poor execution. Frankenstein could have made a terrific musical. So could have Bigand The Goodbye Girl. Heck, even [shudder] Lestatmight have worked, in the right hands. But like the poor creature from Mary Shelley's novel, these musicals wrested control from the hands of their well-intentioned creators and took on an unfortunate life of their own.

Regular readers may recall that I saw the London revival of Sunday in the Park with Georgeand was absolutely blown away. (Read my review here.) The production was a stunning combination of state-of-the-art (pun intended) digital technology and palpable, empathic direction. Sam Buntrock coaxed multi-layered portrayals from his uniformly excellent London cast. We can only hope that he manages a similar feat with his redoubtable Broadway cast.

The Roundabout revival begins performances at Studio 54 in January, opens in February, and is currently slated to run until the end of April. Do yourself, and the Roundabout, a favor and grab a ticket to this show. Multiple tickets, even.

"I chose and my world was shaken. So what? The choice may have been mistaken. The choosing was not." -- Stephen Sondheim